This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 12/349,355, entitled “Metered Delivery of Wireless Power” filed Jan. 6, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,069,100, which is incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to wireless power systems and more particularly to such systems capable of powering multiple devices simultaneously.
Wireless power or charging systems are well known and widely used. Such systems typically include a primary power supply and one or more secondary devices. The primary inductively powers the secondary devices when they are brought into proximity with the primary.
While such systems are well known, a number of potential problems are associated with such systems.
First, each primary supply is typically sized for a particular application depending upon the power to be drawn from the power supply. Issues arise when the power requirements of the secondary devices are greater than the power capacity of the primary supply. The secondary device may shut down, or the secondary device may attempt to charge at the reduced power level available which may not be appropriate for the device. Typically either result happens without feedback or warning to the user. Consequently, the device may be charged improperly or not at all.
Second, multiple power supplies typically are required for multiple secondary devices—i.e. one for each device. This can result in a multitude of power supplies, which are expensive and difficult to store, use, and match with the secondary devices.